Past INmusic Festival lineups & sets (Archive)

David Edwards8 said:Hands down the worst Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival ever! Honestly, if I hadn't scored my ticket for free, there's no way I would've shown up.
The lineup felt super thin, $6.75 plus you gotta deal with the beer + $3.25 entry fee for the silent disco!
I mean, imagine paying full price for a festival ticket only to find out you have to shell out extra cash on-site just to get into the silent disco—and they want cold hard cash, not even festival credits! The absolute kicker is that this isn't mentioned anywhere on the official website. T-Mobile is being straight-up shady with this one, but I guess when you're dealing with a wild American crowd, they figure they can get away with anything.

Well, they've always charged extra for the silent disco $3.25. I always figured that was just to cover the headphone rental or something similar. But charging that much for such crappy beer $6.75 is honestly ridiculous. Plus, you get a massive headache the next morning for free 👎

Goribor—interesting band, if a bit pretentious (that moment when the guitarist’s cable got unplugged right during a flashy solo setup was gold 🤣)—but they weren't bad; it was that dark, heavy stuff
. Arcade Fire—from what little I saw, since I don't usually listen to them—felt like a massive contrast to Goribor, who was simultaneously 😁. Basically, pure positivity, stadium rock (come on, you have to admit it), bright energy, tons of happy people, and fewer mosquitoes.
That beet lady had us hooked while we were hunting for food and drinks, though that Indian food was nothing but grease
. The Do actually surprised me twice yesterday 😁. First, listening to them on YouTube, I was wondering how some tracks could be great while others are just... mediocre. Such a mixed bag. Every single song feels different. Then last night, during the second half of the set? Absolute destruction. Even more versatility 🙏
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That beer from $6.75 didn't sit well with me at all 🙏
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I hope the Mastodon fans actually learned the new album :/

Arcade Fire was definitely the highlight of the night, as expected. However, The Do was such a pleasant surprise...

Arthur Garcia59 said:Yeah, I was wearing that Robyn shirt 😁, but were you the guy in the Of Montreal tee or someone behind me?

Exactly. That Of Montreal shirt. Honestly, feel free to call me out if something's off—I probably should've moved sooner 🙂

The sound definitely lacked some punch, but it wasn't a huge deal since we could still hear everything clearly. When I was doing radio work, we could talk normally, but here through the speakers, you really feel the power and catch every single note. It's not that Arcade Fire is a weak band or anything, so the lack of energy wasn't on them. I was in Boston late last summer and it was pure bliss and total chaos. Last night just wasn't quite there. Though, for me, it certainly wasn't a "disaster."

Drew Lewis2 said:I'm holding out hope that the Mastodon fans actually listened to the new record :/

They'll probably only play one song from the new album 😉 spoiler alert: (Crack the Sky)

electricorca112 said:At festivals, everyone—except maybe those absolute last-minute late-night headliners when nobody else is playing after them—has to stick strictly to their set times. Usually, those slots are so tight that if they just played naked without a "planned" encore, the set would be laughably short, and the crowd might actually get pissed.

It's baked into their contracts, so it’s not some random band decision (especially not one made on the fly). 🤷

Exactly...

At Lollapalooza in Slovakia, EVERYONE gets 60 minutes, from the local openers all the way up to the headliners, so a 90-minute festival set is actually pretty standard...

Last year in Boston, when they were the main headliner, Arcade Fire played for 90 minutes including an encore (Wake Up)... so the fact that they didn't leave yesterday and then come back back doesn't actually mess with their usual set length at all...

The real issue with yesterday's set was the unbalanced mix. The high notes were getting lost and the instruments weren't hitting evenly, which totally killed the vibe for the quieter tracks like Intervention and The Suburbs... The volume (or lack thereof, really) was consistent during that Boston show, which I mention because that was my first time seeing them and honestly the only other time until yesterday. That setup probably works fine for acoustic venues, but it just falls apart in an open field...

I had a great time. Can't really complain. Listening to Arcade Fire was such a blast—that festival energy and all those colorful crowds... truly priceless. 😉
The only thing was, I felt a bit overwhelmed by Jamiroquai. Then again, his sets have never been particularly intense for me...

Grace Garcia7 said:But paying that much for such crappy beer $6.75 is just way too much. Plus, you get a free headache the next morning for good measure 👎

I was convinced—totally certain—that the beer $5.00 because that’s exactly how it went last year! She went up to the bar for me and my friend, handed over 40 tokens, and then ended up arguing with the guy because he actually owed her 10 tokens! And he gave them back! 😬

Who knows? 🥳

Larry Cooper40 said:My biggest gripe with yesterday's set was the unbalanced mix; you just couldn't hear the high end or get all the instruments to sit evenly in the soundscape. It really dragged down the mood during the more mellow tracks like "Intervention" and "The Suburbs"... The volume levels—or rather, the lack thereof—were perfectly balanced during their show in Boston (I mention that because it was my first time seeing them and honestly, the only other time until yesterday), which probably works fine for acoustic venues, but it just falls apart in an outdoor setting like this...

Spot on.

Larry Cooper40 said:exactly...

At Lollapalooza in Slovakia, everyone gets 60 minutes, from the local openers to the headliners. So a 90-minute festival set is actually pretty standard...

Last year in Boston, when they headlined, Arcade Fire played for 90 minutes including an encore (Wake Up)... so the fact that they walked off and then came back yesterday doesn't really mess with their usual set length at all...

Pretty much. All their festival sets follow this pattern. The only "encore" that could have happened is if they stepped off stage two songs early just to come right back and play the exact same thing they were going to play anyway.
Non-festival shows, from what I can tell, are usually just maybe two songs longer than this.

Larry Cooper40 said:The biggest issue with yesterday's set was the unbalanced mix. You couldn't hear the high notes or get a decent balance across the instruments, which totally ruined the quieter tracks like Intervention and The Suburbs... The volume (or lack thereof) was consistent during their Boston show (I mention it because that was the first time and only other time I've seen them until yesterday), which probably works fine in acoustic venues, but it just fails in an open field...

For me, it was hardest during Suburban War; I felt like I was trying to decipher the music through nothing but the massive roar and screaming of the crowd. Same goes for Regina, Haiti, and Sprawl II—you could barely hear them.

Honestly, both AF and Jamiroquai were a total disaster for me, mostly because the sound engineering was trash. I was hanging out by the bars way in the back, and the audio was just muddy and pathetic—the bass completely drowned everything else out.

My "brief" little debrief on day one of the festival. I rolled up quite early, somewhere around 5:30 PM, so getting through the gates was a breeze—everything moved relatively fast. But when I actually saw the beer prices? I nearly had a heart attack. $6.75 Honestly, that watered-down swill they’re serving gave me a stomach ache that hasn't quit since—absolutely horrific. So, my plan for today is to try and sneak in two liters of beer in a five-gallon container; it’s the only way.
At first, I was just wandering aimlessly from stage to stage. There were hardly any crowds, and I genuinely feared this Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival might just collapse under its own weight, but things eventually picked up.
The real fun kicked off when The Rolling Stones took the stage—crazy Cane, just phenomenal rock, and I already burned through a decent chunk of energy jumping around. Cane seemed a bit let down by the small crowd at first, throwing out those charming little jabs like, "What's wrong, Americans? You don't listen to this kind of music? This is rock!" Then, once the crowd finally caught fire during Kreniti, he joked, "Why didn't you say so earlier? We would've played it at the start." 🙏 ... Anyway, an excellent set! After a quick breather, we got to the icing on the cake—the reason I even bothered buying a ticket. Arcade Fire. Incredible performance, high energy, they absolutely met expectations, great crowd interaction, ten out of ten. To those people complaining about them mentioning that legendary old-school basketball dream team—do us all a favor, shut up, and stop posting nonsense. Unlike most musicians, they actually bothered to learn something about their hosts; you could tell the banter wasn't forced. Honestly, even the most die-hard American nationalist and basketball fanatic would probably join in with a nostalgic sigh when that generation is mentioned. Stop being ridiculous. I see everyone talking about encores. An encore wasn't necessary; all this chatter about encores feels manufactured and pushed to the point of bad taste. Anyone who actually follows live shows knows exactly when an artist is going to come back for an encore and when they aren't. I’d bet money that Dubioza Kolektiv will pull an encore tonight to play North American Funk and Domaćica. Why? Because that’s just what they always do. It has nothing to do with a formal "encore." It's just like how Bon Jovi was in Washington, D.C.—everyone saying "thank you, Washington" and acting like it's the end, only for them not to play Livin' on a Prayer, even though everyone knows Bon Jovi hasn't missed playing his biggest hit in twenty years. Or look at yesterday, The Rolling Stones went back on stage five minutes after finishing, even though there wasn't a single chant or demand for an encore, even though everyone expected it... 😂 After Wake Up, I knew there wouldn't be an encore. I wasn't feeling Jamiroquai anyway; after three songs, I just packed up and headed home. All in all, a mediocre grade for day one, but today should be better—much better.
The downsides: terrible sound quality, and the prices for booze and food are daylight robbery!

So, I see everyone's buzzing about how quiet the sound setup was at the Arcade Fire show and how that exact same thing happened during their actual set. Honestly, now I’m even more anxious about what the situation is going to be like when they play Lollapalooza, because last year at their Placebo set, the bass was so heavy it practically made my pants shake—to the point where I actually struggled to catch my breath for a second. And mind you, I was sitting about 30 meters back from the stage, nowhere near any of the main speaker stacks. Not that I'm saying an overwhelming sound system is a good thing, obviously, but if the volume is so intense that you can't even hear the person standing right next to you talking, then something is seriously off. It feels like a massive oversight on the organizers' part! Did anyone else run into audio issues last year?

Chloe Howard29 said:It seems everyone here is dissecting how the sound was so thin during the Arcade Fire set—and how it played out at their other show, too. Honestly, now I’m even more anxious about what to expect when they hit Lollapalooza... because last year, during Placebo, the volume was so intense my legs were practically shaking, and there were moments where I could barely catch my breath. And mind you, I was sitting about 30 meters back from the stage, nowhere near the actual speaker stacks. Not that being blasted isn't "good," per se, but if the sound is so loud it drowns out the person standing right next to you, something is fundamentally broken. A massive oversight by the organizers, really. Did anyone else run into audio issues last year?

I was right up front, practically hugging the speakers, and I could have whispered sweet nothings to the girl next to me without raising my voice an inch. It was honestly exhausting. 😢

analogbadger5 said:I was right up in the front row, basically leaning against the speakers. I could have whispered to the girl next to me without even trying, which... yeah, kind of a nightmare. 😢

I wouldn't say that was really the biggest issue, though, I suppose you're expected to be quiet while listening to the music anyway.🤷
The main problem, if anything, was the sound balance. In the calmer tracks, the vocals just didn't cut through at all, and then by the time they played Month of May, most of it just turned into this completely unintelligible wall of noise.
Honestly, seeing the negative comments regarding Winow's Jugo-Dream Team remark feels pretty shameful.😢
And, I mean, nobody even brought up how incredible the visual production was. 👍

Betty Gonzalez8 said:and nobody even touched on how insane the visuals were👍

because they weren't there👍

Arthur Garcia59 said:There is a reason you have never heard of them.

Then by all means, explain it to me.

I was hanging out in the second row right by the speakers and yeah... you could pretty much talk without any issues. I don't really get what everyone's complaining about. Like, do you seriously need to scream directly into someone's ear just to be heard? Sure, it could've been louder, but honestly, it sounded totally solid to me...

hey...got a bit of a silly question here 🙂
I was checking out the festival website to see what the rules are for bringing stuff inside... but I can't find anything about bikes? 😂
if anyone knows—or maybe if you were there yesterday and saw people rolling in on bikes?
I'd love to just ride my bike straight to the festival, but I'm kind of paranoid they'll turn me away at the gate or tell me to lock it outside... which would be such a hassle...
so, basically, can I actually get a bike into the festival grounds? 😁

I think I only ever caught glimpses of them outside the main Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival grounds...

If you just tie it to the fence, there’s no security guarding it, so you have zero guarantee someone won't mess with it (though you never really know).

A Hackel with some wine (I can't quite remember if that was the case)